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{No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 H. P. PARSONS.

CONTINUOUS RAIL FROG FOR BAILWAYS. No. 396,420. M Patented Jan. 22,1889.

U A "3' M N. PETERS. mnlu-Lilho n hur. Washmgloll. D. c.

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

H. 1?. PARSONS.

CONTINUOUS RAIL FROG FOR. RAILWAYS.

9 8 8 1 2 2 n N a U d DU t n e t a P WITNESSES.

N4 PETERS. Phnlmuuw m lwr. wam'm tun 11c.

UNITED STATES ATENT FFICEQ HENRY F. PARSONS, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.,ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGN' MENTS, TO THE PARSONS BLOCK, SlVITCH AND FROGCOMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

CONTINUOUS RAIL-FROG FOR RAILWAYS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 396,420, dated January22, 1889.

Application filed April 23, 1888. Serial No. 271,509. (No M181.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY F. PARSONS, a citizen of the United States,residing at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York,have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in ContinuousRail-Frogs for Railways, of which thefollowing is a full, clear, andexact description.

The object of my invention is to provide what I am pleased to call acontinuous railfrog for railways, whereby the common pointed frog isdispensed with and the frog is as smooth and durable as any otherportion of the rail. The frog itself is simply a section or piece ofordinary railway-rail so far as outline and material are concerned, andis provided with worm-gearing for operating it. This worm-gearingimparts positive movement to the frog, and, in addition, locks the frogin any given position, so that it cannot be accidentallydisplaced. Thefrog may be moved through its worm-gearing by means of any suitablemechanism, but I prefer to operate it automatically; and in thisconnection I desire to refer to the invention entitled railway switchand signals, set forth in my concurrent application for patent, whereinthis continuous rail-frog is embodied as an element, although I do notlimit the applica- 0 tion of my frog to any particular switch or signalmechanism nor to any specific form of operating device.

Myinvention consists in a self-locking continuous rail-frog constructedand arranged 3 5 substantially as I will now proceed particularly to setforth and claim.

In the accompanying drawings illustrating my invention, in the severalfigures of which like parts are similarly designated, Figure 1 is a planview. Fig. 2 is a side elevation;

Fig. 3, a sectional elevation. Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic plan view of oneform of operating mechanism. Fig. 5 is a side elevation of another formof operating mechanism; and

Fig. 6 is a sectional side elevation of another form of operatingmechanism, (the proportions being exaggeratech) this last view showingpart of the automatic system of switch and signal mechanism set forth inthe case above referred to.

Any usual or suitable junction pieces or connections, (t Z) Z), of amain track and siding or crossing may be used to receive my frog. Thesepieces are intersected by the frog, which, for convenience of reference,I designate comprehensively by the letter A.

The frog A consists of a section or piece, 0, of the general outline ofan ordinary railwayrail, and of the same material, and of suitablelength. One end is made with a depending 6o lug or boss, (Z, which isprovided with a segmental worm-gear, c. This boss is arranged in anopening in a bed-plate, f, and thus serves also as a pivot or axis forthe movement of the frog from one rail 1) to the other, the pivot beingarranged at the junction-piece atl1at is to say, where the rails meet.

The frog 0 may be guided in its movements by a traveler-rail, g, securedto the bed-plate f, and engaging a transverse opening, it, in

the web of the frog. The segmental wormgear 6 is engaged by aworm-shaft, 1', which may be suspended from the bed-plate in bearinglugsj 7. The worm-shaft is provided at one end with an arm, 7;, and this inturn is connected with an operating-rod, l, which is reciprocatedlongitudinally to rotate the wormshaft and through it and its connectionwith the segmental worm-gear vibrate the frog.

It will be observed that the worm-gearing not only positively moves thefrog, but also at the same time locks it in any position into which itmay be moved.

I have shown various forms of operating mechanism. 8 In Fig.5 m is aswitch having the usual.

switch-bar, n, which bar is connected to any usual switch-stand, and hasa longitudinal rectilinear reciprocating motion. Z is the frog operatingrod, and A the frog. A bell-crank o lever, 0, pivoted at p to anysuitable support is interposed between the rod l and switchbar a, andjointed to each, so that upon the reciprocation of the switch-bar itsmotion will be transmitted to and converted into a rotary 5 motion ofthe worm-shaft 2', and so shift the frog in harmony with the shifting ofthe switch. In this arrangement I include any and all switch-operatingmechanisms, manual or automatic. As an alternative construction, the rodZ maybe connected to an elbow-lever, q, (see Fig. 5,) arranged alongsideof a rail and adapted to be operated by the wheels of a passinglocomotive. A similar rod and lever may be arranged on the other side ofthe frog to reverse. Such frog-operatin g mechanism is not uncommon.

In Fig. 6 I have illustrated in part my automatic system beforementioned. Briefly, this consists of two series of similar levers, v- 1,one series being reversed or set for operation automatically by theoperation of the other, and the two series being connected by rodsZthrough intervening gearing set in mo tion by the depression of thelever by means of mechanism on the locomotive, as will appear more fullyin the case mentioned.

Instead of the worm-gearing described it is obvious that by properrearrangements of the parts ordinary toothed wheels may be employed toconnect the shaft and :t'rog. I include, therefore, in and as of myinvention, other forms of gearing than the worm-gearing illustrated anddescribed, excepting where the latter is specifically claimed.

I reserve for the case named all claims for specific combinations ofthis continuous rail frog with automatic switch. mechanism and hereinclaim only the broad invention.

hat I claim is- 1. A continuous rail-frog combined with self-lockingworm-gearing for operating it, substantially as described.

2. A railway-frog provided with a toothed gear, combined with a shaftand a toothed gear thereon meshing with the gear of the frog, and by itsrotation serving to move or shift the frog and lock it in givenposition, substantially as described.

3. The combination with a pivoted frog and a segmental worm-gearthereon, of a wormshaft geared with the worm-gear and adapted to berotated to shift the frog from one position to another and back againand incident-' ally to lock the frog in its positions of use,substantially as described.

4. The combination, with a continuous railfrog, of automatic operatingmechanism and self-locking worm-gearing connecting the two,substantially as set forth.

5. A railway-frog provided with a toothed gear, and a shaft and atoothed gear thereon meshing with the gear of the frog, and by itsrotation serving to move or shift the frog and lock it in givenposition, combined with automatic operating mechanism connected withsaid shaft, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 21st day of April,A. D. 1888.

HENRY F. PARSONS.

lVitnesses:

J AS. McG. SMITH, RoBT. L. REDFIELD.

